Kochi Metro ‘Supports’ KBF in Unique Art Outreach Project

KOCHI:
Nearly 400 support piers along an approximately 20-km stretch on the Kochi Metro line from Aluva to Vytilla will sport a nine-foot-high overcoat of graffiti and art work courtesy the Kochi Biennale Foundation (KBF).
The KBF has partnered with the Kochi Metro Rail Ltd. (KMRL), inking an agreement here today, to bring a touch of artistic sensibility and a unique Kerala flavour to the eagerly awaited public transport system. The paintwork will stand for the duration of Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2016.
While piers under station structures are excluded from the initiative, the art will adorn pillars between: Aluva to Muttom; Kalamassery to Pathadipalam via Nippon Toyota; Pathadippalam to Edappally; Edappally to Changampuzha Park; Changampuzha Park to JLN Stadium and JLN Stadium to Kaloor. Also included is the stretch between the M.G. Road and Maharaja’s College stations besides Manorama and Vyttila junctions.
“We are very lucky to have the Biennale in Kochi and it has become bigger than the city. If you say you are from Kochi wherever you go in the world, the first question asked is about the Biennale. It is a great occasion for us. I wish the Biennale all the best and hope that this will be a continuing collaboration between Kochi Metro and succeeding editions of the Biennale. We are also trying to theme our trains along artistic lines, which is another endeavour that we working out with the Biennale,” said Elias George, Managing Director, KMRL
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by KBF CEO Manju Sara Rajan and KMRL Director (Projects) Thiruman Archunan.
The Kochi Metro will become the latest in a long line of innovative art experiences offered by subway and public transport systems across the world from Moscow to Mumbai. The contrast between artwork and the functional aesthetic of pillars is thought to instill in both passengers and the general public a sense of excitement about their commute.
While the production will take inspiration from and promote the Biennale, it is also the latest in a diverse array of concerted efforts and programmes undertaken by the KBF to make art more acce
ssible to the wider community.
“It is an honour to work with Kochi Metro. The Biennale has long been an attraction in Kochi and the Kochi Metro is going to be the pride of the city because it is going to change the way we travel and the way we live. We hope that in the coming future maybe when you buy a ticket to travel in the Kochi Metro, you can also see the Biennale. We’re looking forward to a great future when art becomes more accessible to people and art is made available in our public spaces. The metro project is very symbolic because it is going to be ‘art which is moving’. We hope this collaboration becomes a great success,” said KBF Secretary Riyas Komu.